| Klauskalbia | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Fungi |
| Division: | Ascomycota |
| Class: | Lecanoromycetes |
| Order: | Caliciales |
| Family: | Physciaceae |
| Genus: | Klauskalbia S.Y.Kondr., Lőkös, E.Farkas & Hur (2021) |
| Type species | |
| Klauskalbia obscurata (Nyl.) S.Y.Kondr., Lőkös, E.Farkas & Hur (2021) | |
| Species | |
Klauskalbia is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the family Physciaceae. [1] It has four species of foliose lichens.
The genus was circumscribed in 2021 by lichenologists Sergey Kondratyuk, László Lőkös, Edit Farkas, and Jae-Seoun Hur. Klauskalbia obscurata was assigned as the type species; [2] this species was originally described as Physcia speciosa subsp. obscurata by William Nylander in 1863. [3] The genus name honours German lichenologist Klaus Kalb. [2]
Klauskalbia bears resemblance to the genus Heterodermia in the strict sense, but is differentiated primarily by the absence of a lower cortex. Its lower surface typically appears dull and is devoid of rhizines. Unlike Heterodermia, which usually features a shiny lower cortex or pseudocortex often equipped with rhizines, Klauskalbia is marked by a cottony layer of hyphae on the lower surface, saturated with yellow to orange-brown pigments. Additionally, the genus Klauskalbia has some likeness to Polyblastidium due to the marginal rhizines in its thallus that soon take on a deep black colour. However, the distinction lies in the lower surface structure of Polyblastidium, which comprises more sporadic hyphae either devoid of pigments or sporadically pigmented. [2]
The thallus of Klauskalbia is foliose in nature, with shapes ranging from orbicular to irregularly spreading and has a moderately to loosely adnate attachment. Its lobes , which can be plane to convex, have a characteristic sublinear-elongate shape with irregular branching. These lobes often radiate, with their tips neither ascending nor covered in cilia . The upper surface of this lichen tends to vary between grey-white to greenish-white tones, which may darken towards the centre. Klauskalbia lacks soredia, isidia, and pruina or may present sorediate traits, with soredia that are either farinose or granular in form. The medulla is white, contrasting with a lower medulla that showcases shades of dark yellow to orange-brown. Notably, the lower surface of this lichen lacks a cortex, and is instead overlaid with a cotton-woolly layer of hyphae that is steeped in yellow to orange-brown pigments. In certain species, the texture is arachnoid , and it is not uncommon for black marginal rhizines to be present, either in a simple (unbranched) form or exhibiting squarrose ly branched patterns. The apothecia of Klauskalbia are either rare or common, situated on the laminal surface and can be sessile to nearly stipitate in form. The chemistry of Klauskalbia is also worth noting; the cortex reacts K+ (yellow), and the genus contains specific substances like atranorin and zeorin. [2]
Endowed with an ecological range that spans various forest types and altitudes from 630 to 2,565 m (2,067 to 8,415 ft) a.s.l., Klauskalbia is found on tree barks, dead wood, and rocks in varied environments, from savannas and tropical rainforests to mountainous scrubland and coniferous forests. Thus far, four species have been categorised under this genus. The species Klauskalbia flabellata has a widespread distribution, including regions like Australia, parts of America, Africa, Asia, and even Fiji, making it potentially the most prevalent of the four. Conversely, Klauskalbia obscurata is frequently found across continents like North, Central and South America, Africa, Asia, Australia, possibly Europe, and New Zealand. However, K. paradoxa and K. crocea have a more restricted distribution, being native exclusively to Indonesia and North America, respectively. [2]
The Teloschistaceae are a large family of mostly lichen-forming fungi belonging to the class Lecanoromycetes in the division Ascomycota. Many members of the Teloschistaceae are readily identifiable by their vibrant orange to yellow hue, a result of their frequent anthraquinone content. The presence of these anthraquinone pigments, which confer protection from ultraviolet light, enabled this group to expand from shaded forest habitats to harsher environmental conditions of sunny and arid ecosystems during the Late Cretaceous. Collectively, the family has a cosmopolitan distribution, although members occur predominantly in subtropical and temperate regions. Although most members are lichens that either live on rock or on bark, about 40 species are lichenicolous fungi–meaning they live on other lichens.
The Physciaceae are a family of mostly lichen-forming fungi belonging to the class Lecanoromycetes in the division Ascomycota. A 2016 estimate placed 19 genera and 601 species in the family.
Anaptychia is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the family Physciaceae. Anaptychia species have brown, thin-walled spores with a single septum, and a prosoplechtenchymatous upper cortex.
Heterodermia is a genus of lichenized fungi in the family Physciaceae. The genus has a widespread distribution, especially in tropical regions, and contains about 80 species.
Sedelnikovaea is a genus of placodioid lichens in the family Lecanoraceae. The genus was circumscribed in 2015 by Sergey Kondratyuk, Min-Hye Jeong, and Jae-Seoun Hur to contain Sedelnikovaea baicalensis, the type species. Three additional species were transferred into the genus in 2019.
Klaus Kalb is a German lichenologist and an authority on tropical lichens.
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Gallowayella aphrodites is a species of corticolous (bark-dwelling), foliose (leafy) lichen in the family Teloschistaceae. It is found in the Mediterranean countries Greece, Cyprus, and Italy. Characteristics of the lichen include its small thallus, the disposition of the rhizines on the thallus undersurface, and the lack of vegetative propagules.
Bryostigma is a genus of lichen-forming fungi of uncertain familial placement in the order Arthoniales. The genus was circumscribed in 1979 by Josef Poelt and Peter Döbbeler, with the muscicolous lichen Bryostigma leucodontis assigned as the type species. A dozen Arthonia species were transferred into the genus in 2020 following molecular phylogenetic analysis of the family Arthoniaceae that showed distinct phylogenetic lineages that were basal to that family. The genus contains several parasitic species that occur on hosts having chlorococcoid photobionts.
Kashiwadia is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the family Physciaceae. The genus was circumscribed in Sergey Kondratyuk, László Lőkös, and Jae-Seoun Hur in 2014 to contain the species Physcia orientalis, after molecular phylogenetic analysis showed that the taxon occupied an isolated phylogenetic position in the Physciaceae. An additional five species were added to the genus in 2021. The genus name honours Japanese lichenologist Hiroyuki Kashiwadani, who originally described the type species.
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Rusavskia is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the family Teloschistaceae. It has 12 species. It is a member of the subfamily Xanthorioideae. The thallus of Rusavskia is characterized by its foliose (leaf-like) structure with distinct and typically narrow lobes that curve outwards.
Erichansenia is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the family Teloschistaceae. It has three species of saxicolous (rock-dwelling), crustose lichens.
Kurokawia is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the family Physciaceae. It has seven species of foliose lichens. The genus, circumscribed in 2021, has Kurokawia isidiata as the type species.
Kurokawia palmulata is a species of corticolous (bark-dwelling), foliose lichen in the family Physciaceae.
Hosseusiella is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the family Teloschistaceae. It has three species of crustose to foliose (leafy) lichens, some of which grow on bark, while others grow on rock. All three occur in the southern part of the South American continent, where they are fairly common.
Orientophila is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the family Teloschistaceae. It has 15 species of mostly saxicolous (rock-dwelling), crustose lichens. All Orientophila species occur in Northeast Asia including China, Japan, South Korea, and the Russian Far East.
Pisutiella is a genus of lichen-forming fungi in the family Teloschistaceae. It contains five species of saxicolous (rock-dwelling), crustose lichens that are found in a variety of environments in the Northern Hemisphere.
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